Thursday, August 1, 2013

Not Scrapping - Winning!

It's going to take a lot of muscle to either make it an easy win or get yet another scraped-together win.

Looks like today they did the former - FINALLY! I've been waiting all series for the Tribe to just sweep these silly White Sox off their feet and it seemed like today was the day!

Masterson and Brantley were actually the weak spots in today's game. No I am not kidding! Masterson only went 6 2/3 and Brantley got shut out at the plate. Two of our best guys had a less-than-stellar game and we still whomped those Sox. Holla!

Masterson was only like 85% ace today. Ha! He went those 6 2/3 innings, striking out "only" 7 and giving up "as many as" one run. Five hits and 3 walks. I think he did more than his part though - heck, it was a quality start! I feel icky even entertaining the thought that I feel like he's letting us down if he doesn't go 8. Hehehe...

So what next? Next was Oh No Not Rich Hill, who we might have to re-christen something like Ok So Rich Hill. He's been doing all right lately at least taking care of lefty-lefty matchups when he's brought in for that. Since the starters are going longer the staff is able to be more selective about who pitches where and not leave Hill out there longer than his welcome. Strangely enough, they had him out there to get the last out in the 7th AND back in the 8th to complete the inning. And you know what happened?

Nothing happened. Hill didn't give up any runs. Not even any hits, my friends. And in fact, Rich Hill struck out 2. Did he finally figure out "his thing"? Because, that is what we need to cruise through the rest of this season. Less "Oh No" and more "All Right!"

Joe Smith came in for the 9th and let nothing get by, like we are always to expect with Joe Smith but don't always get anymore. So hooray for classic Smith!

Bourney was out today so we were graced with Extra Stubbs (you know, extra at-bats when you hit first.) Go extra Stubbs! He went 3 for 4 with a walk and came in to score 2 runs - and he amazingly didn't steal any bases even though he was out there 4 times! It must have been one of those games where stolen bases would have been...uncivilized.

Swisher, 1 for 5.

So, Ryan Raburn was in today, playing right field and batting in the 3rd spot, the Kipnis spot. Man, that guy is so good...

He's so good he went 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI today, okay Gene Rayburn?! When not getting RBI from his home runs, he was getting one on a single with 2 on.

So Raburn has 9 RBI in his last 6 games with 9 hits. Woah - he's batting .283, too! His last 6 games were over 10 days, too, so he's definitely been playing more. Play him if it means wins!

Man, Asdrubal is just the pits lately. He did get an RBI on a sac fly today and that says a lot - get work done for the team!

Carlos Santana had another bomb-diggity day. He went 3 for 4...no RBI but he did come in to score a run! He's got 13 hits over his last 10 games, and 6 in this series - even after being shut down in the first game!

Yan Gomes went 2 for 3, because he got hit by a pitch and hit two singles. He extended his hitting streak to 5! No RBI or runs for him, though - Raburn took nearly everything himself today!

You know who did get an RBI, tho? Mark Reynolds! Hey Mark Reynolds! I totally want that guy to do well, if just to spite my uncle who wasn't even an asshole about telling me how disappointing Reynolds was in Arizona. He was just telling me, in a nonchalant way. And now I'm all "OMG I HOPE MARK REYNOLDS PROVES YOU ALL WRONG!" Of course, he's kind of not proving anyone wrong except for the fact that he's not hitting 40 homers and striking out the rest of the time like everyone said he would. No, man, he's popping out! Wheeeee...

Anyway, he got himself an RBI single today. A single, guys, not a homer. Way to prove them wrong!

Mike Aviles was in the 9 spot today, being that Drew Stubbs was needed elsewhere (in a flash!) He went 1 for 4, because he's always solid, that Mike Aviles.

So there you have it - the Tribe took not one but TWO 4-game series from the White Sox this season. And Masterson has 4 wins against the team this year too, with a .85 ERA. That's crazypants....

Speaking of pitching: Frank Herrmann reports that he played catch today for the first time in 5 months. Josh Tomlin has been hanging around the Tribe clubhouse. Vinnie Pestano was sent to Columbus the day after "Spider-Vinnie" blew up and I got a ton of new Twitter followers.

Would be fun to have all those boys back in September, wouldn't it? It would. I feel like Vinnie is out battling cancer or something, and we're rooting for him to pull through so he can finish the season with the team. Come on, Vinnie! We all believe in you!

So tomorrow the team is in Miami and I wish I could watch the games on TV because I think the Miami stadium is crazy. There's a fish tank, and dancing girls, and I think a pool. Aye aye aye! Jason Kipnis reports on Twitter right now (around 11 PM Eastern) that they're at a steakhouse that brought them a plate of complimentary bacon as a starter. What?

So yeah, tomorrow is Ubaldo versus RHP 2.71. Whatever - we got this!

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"The Indians and Royals have a great chance today [to gain ground] - the Tigers aren't playing!"
- Jim Rosenhaus

"I tell you what, the game needs more umpires like John Hershbeck."
- Tom Hamilton